Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
This is my concern with Jones (from Commandant's post)
I am not sure a player learns that "mean streak".
Shea Weber had it, Phaneuf had it, Pronger had it, guys like Erik Johnson never had it, Bouwmeester never had it.
Without the mean streak that is all the Jones is, another Johnson or Bouwmeester.
|
While this is true. Bouwmeester and Johnson still could have been better than they are.
Johnson's development was stalled after a great season, when he tore his knee to shreds in the golf cart accident in St. Louis. Erik had 10 goals 39 points in his second year in the NHL, at a young age and has never been the same since. His development was sidetracked by the injury.
Bouwmeester, I'm not even sure what went wrong for that kid in Florida. But he had potential to be so much more than he is. Don't get me wrong, as I say in the article, he's a good D, a true top 4, and a minute eater. But, he could have been a Norris contender if he developped properly, even without the mean streak. He should have been a dynamic offensive force with his tools, but never really put it all together for whatever reason.
I don't think Jones will develop a mean streak either. But that alone... with no other hiccups in development, would not stop him from being elite.